Dear friend,

The 2008 California Report Card: The State of the State's Children highlights the generally poor health and education status of the state's children by assigning letter grades to key individual determinants, such as a C in health insurance, a C- in K-12 education and a D+ in obesity. These issues are undermining children's optimal development and putting the state's future at undue risk. The report also shows, however, that real progress on these issues can and should be made in 2008.

The most current and comprehensive set of indicators of California children's health and education status also are presented in the report, including:

• Only 47% of 3- and 4-year-olds attend preschool;
• One in three children is overweight or obese;
• Just 65% graduate from high school on time;
• 37% of children, ages 2-5, did not visit a dentist within the last year;
• Fewer than half of families can afford the basics of housing, child care, food, health insurance and transportation.

We urge you to read the new 2008 California Report Card: The State of the State's Children, share it with others, and support change now.

Sincerely,

Children Now